Boxing Day crowd boost

India, by bringing the series well and truly alive with its four-wicket victory over Australia yesterday, is expected to inspire strong ticket sales for the Boxing Day Test.

Australia will be in the unusual position of having to win the third Test in Melbourne to preserve its chances of winning the series.

And as Rahul Dravid churned up the winning runs at Adelaide Oval yesterday, more than 17,000 of the estimated 50,000 tickets available to the public for Boxing Day had been sold.

The Melbourne Cricket Club's general manager of event operations, Trevor Dohnt, said a crowd of 65,000 or more was anticipated for Boxing Day if the weather was good.

"The result in Adelaide is only going to help," he said. With the attraction of Steve Waugh playing his final Test in Melbourne, the crowd was already expected to nudge at the MCG's capacity, which is reduced to about 73,000 by redevelopment work.

Sales to the public have already surpassed the total sold before Boxing Day the last time India toured, in 1999-2000.

The MCC expects its members' area, shifted to the Great Southern Stand, to be full.